In assembling his defensive staff, Bryan Harsin has put together one with three guys who have experience as defensive coordinator.
Before serving as Vandebilt’s head coach, Derek Mason was the defensive coordinator at Stanford — and statistically one of the best in the country.
Following Harsin from Boise State, inside linebackers coach and defensive run game coordinator, Jeff Schmedding, served as Harsin’s defensive coordinator for the Broncos.
“Me and Jeff understand each other from the idea that he's coached safeties, he's coached backers. He understands the front seven, but he also understands backend schemes,” Mason said. “So like, again, we're like two scientists in a lab. We always get after one another, and we find ways to try to make it simple, try to make it better but really just try to make it relatable for our guys. And I think our relationship is really good.”
And Bert Watts, who is the outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator, served as the defensive coordinator at Fresno State before moving to Memphis. The Fresno State defense was third in the country in scoring in 2018, allowing just 14.1 points per game.
“Bert came from Memphis and played at Cal. And I've known Bert for some years. Tremendous, tremendous coach. Smart,” Mason said. “Understands special teams, special teams coordinator. But, having been a defensive coordinator, he brings a lot of football intelligence to what we're doing. He's seen what it looks like in spread as well as some of the mid-line and end attacks that we're going to see from offenses. I like his experience.”
While they’ve only been together for a little while, the three have been able to put their heads together and start scheming up what’s best for the Auburn defense.
“What’s good about where we sit is that with Coach Schmedding and Coach Watts I’ve got two former defensive coordinators,” Mason said. “When we get in the room we lab it up. It’s like getting into a chemistry lab and let’s talk about exactly how we want to attack the line of scrimmage. What do we need to do from leverage to techniques to where we place our eyes.”
As a whole with Zac Etheridge coaching the cornerbacks and Nick Eason coaching the defensive line, Mason feels confident in the group.
“And I think that's the thing with this group. Not only are they experienced coaches, they're great teachers,” Mason said. “I mean, who can get to these guys real fast and make it relatable, learnable and likable. I think that's our group. That's where we sit defensively. Smart group, great group. And you know, I'm actually the fallback of the group. A lot of smart guys in the room. I listen to their ideas, and we run with it.”
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